Episode Transcript
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[00:01:10] Speaker B: welcome to this week's edition of the Dugout Dish podcast. I'm Andy Kirikidis, joined by my Wonderful Co host, Mr. Keith Glasser. How we doing, sir?
[00:01:18] Speaker C: Great.
[00:01:18] Speaker A: How are you?
[00:01:20] Speaker B: Good. We are going to talk about the difficulty of the recruiting process and more importantly, I don't want to sound too hyperbolic here, but I think the simplest way to put it is that playing college baseball is a privilege and not a right.
And I think that understanding the difficulty kind of frames this up. And I think where we'll end up kind of going with this is around like the commitment to what needs to be done to put yourself in a good situation. But we've talked about it recently that, you know, it's a difficult time right now in college baseball. Is it the most difficult it's ever been? No, I don't think so. The numbers suggest that same amount of kids are attritting into college baseball as what we've seen in the past. 7 to 8% for division one, two and three.
Is it harder to get in to that 7 or 8%? Yeah, I think a good argument could be made there with a lot of the rule changes have happened with, you know, the draft reduction and the, the roster cuts and the transfer portal and all that good stuff. But the idea of college baseball can't be overcome. The reality of the work and the effort that needs to be put in. And I think that sometimes it sounds like a fun thing to do. Right. I'm going to go and play college baseball and you know, because I want to, I get to. And I think the, the cruel reality of it is you have to go and take it. You have to go in and put in the work to put yourself in a position to be recruited at any level, right? Not just Division 1, not the SEC.
You need to put in the work and the time and put together a plan, execute the plan. And then most importantly, you know, when your opportunity comes, you need to be able to perform and perform in front of those coaches, and you have to earn the right.
And I think it's important, especially for young guys who are going through this or who have aspirations of playing college baseball, that you wrap your head around the time and the effort that you have to put in just to get an opportunity, just to have a coach show up to your game to evaluate you. You need to do things that other people aren't willing to do, and you have to be. You have to do the things that are going to separate you. The weight room, nutrition, sleep, the skill work, all that kind of good stuff. But that all that does is buy you an opportunity. And I don't think it's overstated, but, yeah, it's a privilege. It's a privilege that you have to earn. And wanting to play college baseball or saying that you want to play college baseball isn't enough in today's environment, and it's never really been enough.
Baseball has to be wildly important to you.
And that's really what it comes down to for me.
[00:04:18] Speaker D: And I think it's important for people
[00:04:19] Speaker B: to hear because it is hard, it is difficult, and it should be.
[00:04:26] Speaker E: Sure,
[00:04:30] Speaker C: I muted myself when I was already off mute.
It's incredibly difficult.
We've talked about this before, and it's floats between 7 and 8%, you know, that are going to play Division 1, 2, or 3, and then you have, you know, Nai and Juco. So that number does get a little bit higher. But the reality is, you know, if it's NCAA, that you want to play Division 1, 2, or 3, you're talking about 92 to 93% of people that are seniors in high school that are never going to play college baseball.
And that's a high number, obviously, 92 to 93% of people that are currently doing this in their junior year, going into their senior year, are not going to play Division 1, 2 or 3 baseball. You know, so it's.
It's incredibly difficult to commit to the process of playing a college sport in general. Right. Like, this is. This is across the board, really. Right. Like, there's the. The overwhelming majority of people are not going to play a college sport.
So it's. It's an incredibly difficult thing. You know, I think we talked about on a recent podcast, like, is this the hardest time ever to play college baseball?
You know, I, I don't think it is. I, I think each and every year is a different thing, but I don't think it's uniquely or intrinsically more hard than it has been in, you know, than it was 20 years ago when you and I went through this process. It was a completely different world in a different landscape. There was no, you know, facilities such as Diamond Nation and Baseball Heaven and NABC and those things where you could show up and play a bunch of games and, you know, have a guaranteed bunch of college scouts there. Like you just went and played with your summer team and, you know, got recruited if you were good enough. And, and it still kind of happens that way, right? Like, the, the, the stage is still a little, the stage is bigger for you to be able to be seen and, and you know, go to showcases and go to camps and clinics and those things. Like, there's, there's more opportunities to be had. But reality is that you still have to be good enough to be able to play at that level in order to have a seat at the table. And I, I think that, you know, we've, with social media, with the amount of tournaments, with the amount of games, with the amount of events that you could attend and the, the amount of times you can get in front of coaches, it has become, you know, Ed, like, I don't subscribe that it's more difficult, but I also think that, like, because there's the amount of money being spent on going to all these events, there becomes this certain, I deserve the right to have a seat at the table.
And that's just not going to be true.
You're still going to have to be able to be good enough from a player standpoint. You're going to be, have to be able to play the game at a high level. You're going to have to have a high level baseball iq. You're going to have to be good in the weight room. You're going to have to learn to
[00:07:26] Speaker A: love the weight room.
[00:07:27] Speaker C: If you don't right now, you're going to have to put in time off the field, you're going to have to hit extra on your own, you're going to have to throw, you're going to have to be in the training room. There's a whole hell of a lot of things that go into being a college baseball player.
You know, I think you said at the top Like, I think a lot of people fall in love with the idea of, of playing college baseball. But then when it gets down to it, it is, it's not easy.
You're going to play like, you know, I guess if you and I could paint a picture for people, you know, if it's, we'll start at Division 3, you're going to get up to 24 days in the fall. So it's a little bit more spread out and I don't want to say more lax because that's not what it is, but it's, it's a little bit more, you know, you can only have up to four days a week, so it's not as intensive as division two or three.
You're still gonna be in the weight room, you know, you're still going to be hitting extra. You still got to go to class.
Once all that stuff gets done, you don't have individuals and that such so you can focus on your, your academics. But once you get into the season, you know you're gonna have 15 weeks of six days a week. You're playing 40 games in that 15 week stretch until you get the conference tournaments and such. So, you know, you do the math. If you're starting in late January, ain't playing a lot of games in late January. So that's six days a week either inside or on a field until you start playing.
And then you know you're playing 10, 11 weeks straight and it's a lot. You're going to be traveling. You're in a spring break somewhere there. You know, there's a lot going on there. Division one and two is a little bit different. You know, you get 30 and 35 days I think respectively at those two in the fall. But it's straight up like it's like a regular season. You're going six days a week. You're only getting one off. You're in the weight room. Once you get off, you can have individuals at least at the Division 1 level, which is three hours a week. You're still lifting in the season. Like it's, it's go time, baby.
You get indies up until the fur until what, two weeks before? Is it two or three weeks before opening day three?
[00:09:34] Speaker B: I think they actually changed it. Now they're giving a more ramp up time.
[00:09:37] Speaker C: All right, so yeah, under old rules, but like, you know, it's go time.
You're going six days a week and you're going to be traveling. You're playing 56 games. If you're in the northeast like you're living out of a bag for the first four to five weeks of the year.
You're just gonna be traveling, leaving on Thursday, coming back late Sunday night, going to class, still got to go to study hall, still got to get your lifts in, got to be in the training room. If you are, you're going to be practicing, you're going to be traveling for midweeks. You're going to blink, and it's going to be May 15, and you'll be like, yo, where did the season just go?
How is the semester over? And how am I just playing baseball right now? Because it's fast, but there's a lot that goes into it. Your sleep, your nutrition, what you're doing off the field, your.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: Your.
[00:10:18] Speaker C: Your classes, your grades. Like all that stuff matters, you know, And I. I think that it's.
It's a tad bit romanticized. Right? Like, everyone wants to do this, but, you know, it's kind of like the Tyson quote. Like, everyone has a plan to get punched in the mouth. Like, you're going to get punched in the mouth at some point, and there's going to be adversity, and you're gonna have to do it, and you're gonna. It's tough. It's. It's going to happen. The recruiting process, it's going to happen when you get to college, but by no means is. Is when 93% of people aren't going to be doing something, is it a right for you to do at the next level. Like, there's. There's certain things that you're going to have to do throughout the course of your baseball career from a sacrifice standpoint, from a putting in the time standpoint, in order to get yourself a seat at the table to play college baseball.
[00:11:12] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: And I think the other part that's really difficult for people to wrap their head around sometimes is that this is an imperfect process, and the idea that because you want to play college baseball that you're going to end up with a whole bunch of schools that are going to recruit you.
It's just not the case for everybody. And I think that obviously, it'd be nice to go through some options and be able to, you know, sift through some schools and take a bunch of visits and all that kind of stuff. But, I mean, I think at its core, you really need to get one, because at the end of the day, you're only choosing one. Right. You need an opportunity.
If this is important to you, you need an opportunity. And I understand that there's other Things that factor into this, right? You get really high academic kids, and there's certain constraints that are put on your recruiting process because there's other pieces of this puzzle that are really important.
Obviously, some of those spots are limited if you. If you've narrowed it down to a very specific portion of. Of schools or types of schools.
But broadly speaking, if you want to play college baseball, you're looking for one place that says, hey, Keith, I like you. I want you to be a part of our program. I'm going to give you an opportunity to play college baseball.
If you get more than that, that's a bonus, right? Obviously, it's nice to have more options, but this idea that you go into the process and you're going to get recruited by a bunch of schools, the reality is you're trying to find one that's the right fit. So it doesn't matter if you get 10 offers or if you get one offer. If the one you get is the one that you like, you're good to go. And you've put yourself in a situation where you now have the opportunity to play in college. And that goes for whether it's Division 1, 2, 3, NAIA, JUCO. It's about getting your foot in the door and having an opportunity to, to go and do it right. There's so many examples of this not going perfectly and, and examples of how this process is imperfect in a lot of ways. And, you know, one of the ones that has been used recently, and I think it's a. I think it's a valid one, is like you look at Terex, Google Cy Young winner for the Tigers. He had one offer coming out of high school, University of Seattle.
He had one.
That's all it took. I'm not saying that everybody's going to go on and win a Cy Young, but he had one opportunity to get his foot in the door. He took it, and he was able to continue to develop and do what he's doing now. But, you know, not all these guys that you see on television, not all these guys that you watch on, on tv, like, you know, it's interesting. There's a. There's an account, I think it's called the Baseball Boys. On Instagram, shout out William and Mary. I think one of, at least one of them is a William and Mary grad. They have awesome content, but they have this one segment where they go and they. They talk to guys pregame and they ask them about their offers. And it's kind of funny because you get everything from, I got Recruited by every school in the sec. And these are all big leaguers. I got recruited by every school in the SEC to.
I had one junior college offer from a school in Wisconsin and now I'm in the big leagues. And then there's all types of scenarios that are in the. In between. I had, you know, two Division 3 offers, and then I got a Division 1 offer December of my junior year or I got a Division 1 offer in April of my senior year of high school baseball.
So everybody's path to this is different.
And I think that a lot of this anxiety around committing and all this stuff, I think a lot of it is driven by social media. And these kids have so much access and they can see the kid from Encinitas, California, committed to so and so school. And you're from New Hampshire. Like when me and you were going through this 20, whatever years ago, I didn't even know the guy in the town next to me was going to play anymore.
So now you have this. And it, I think it, I think it creates this heightened anxiety that there's guys out there committing and I'm not committed or I'm not. I haven't even, I haven't even gotten a phone call yet. Like, there's way more people who are going through the same situation that you're in than you could possibly imagine. And that's closer to the reality than the kid who's sifting through eight or 10 offers.
And I think that's an important thing for people to wrap their head around. And I think it frames up how difficult this process is.
And I keep coming back to the number, like the 7 to 8%, or you include juco and aia. Like maybe it gets up to 10 or 11 years.
It's such a small number of kids who get the opportunity. And you have to understand that to frame up the effort and the time that you have to put in in order to become a part of that pretty exclusive subset of baseball players that get a chance to, to go and play baseball after college or after high school.
[00:16:11] Speaker C: Excuse me.
[00:16:14] Speaker B: So, yeah, yeah. And I get the anxiety. Like, I understand it. Okay? We've been doing this long enough. We've been involved in this game, you know, for college baseball for 20 plus years in a variety of different ways, whether it was coaching or as players or as helping families.
And every year I come out with a greater appreciation for the stress that is induced due to the recruiting process.
And I come out with more and more respect for these kids who are willing to put themselves in the ringer, right? They're willing to put their chips on the table and like, that's a huge step to go and put yourself out there.
And you have to be willing to do that. And you can't back down from it. You can't back down from the pressure of it. You can't back down from the difficulty of it.
Because the kids who are willing to continue to push through it and they take feedback and they move through their development pipeline, they get with their hitting coaches, they get with their throne coaches, they're eating, they're sleeping, they're doing the weights and they're doing everything that they're supposed to do and they're fully committed to this. Those kids generally works out for those guys. But the players in the families that think that going through the motions, and when I say going through the motions, I mean like you go to your hitting coach once a week or you go and hit once, once or twice a week or, you know, you're in the weight room a couple days a week, you know, you're willing to, to not go lift on a Sunday because you were tired and you stayed up late playing video games the night before. Like those guys, like. And there's a lot of them that think that this process is going to work out for them despite the effort that they're going to put in.
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[00:18:53] Speaker C: is the place to be.
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[00:19:02] Speaker C: yeah, I think the, you know the sacrifice that it takes to play at the next level, right? Like, you know you're going to have to give up time with your friends, with your girlfriend, you know, I'm 40 years old. I've never been on a spring break trip ever in my life.
Even having been out of college baseball for Three or four years now, right. Like, you know, my wife coaches a spring sport. There is no spring break trip. I never went on spring break. It wasn't an option. We played baseball, you know, so things like that, you know, I, I don't, I'm not mad about it. Like, that was a decision that I made and I loved every second of what I did. But, like, that was, it was never a thought, right? Like, it was never like, oh, we're going to go to Panama City, Florida for spring break.
Because it wasn't going to be a thing. Like, you were like, you're playing baseball.
[00:20:02] Speaker B: Panama City, Of all the places. Take me down.
Point taken. Point taken.
[00:20:19] Speaker C: So, you know, but, you know, you're gonna have to, you know, sacrifice some things in order to, to, to be able to get to the next level. Right. Like, it doesn't just organically happen for everyone, but, you know, very rarely is it happening, you know, organically for people who are just so good at being able to play this game that it just comes so naturally and it's easy for them. Right.
The, the truth is that there's going to be a, a lot of time, energy and effort spent on your part outside of the baseball field trying to get better at what your game in order for you to be able to get noticed and, and, you know, get your foot in the door to potentially be recruited. And you're right. Like, you only need one.
Like, that's, that's the reality of the situation. Like, you only need one. That, that's it.
You know, and I, I think that, you know, I, I love that account that you, that you had mentioned. And I, I failed to remember what it is right now, but like, they, they interview a lot of big leaguers. They do it quite frequently, actually. And one of their big things is talking about, well, you know, the offers that guys got. And you'd be shocked at some of the guys about, you know, where they actually went to college.
You know, some of them are just straight up juco guys. Some of them are Division two Division, you know, Division two guys.
You know, Tommy Kainlee comes to mind for me. He's an Albany guy who pitched at Lynn University and won a national championship, and he's been in the big leagues for 13 years now.
You know, J.D. martinez was a Nova Southeastern guy.
Mike Friars was a. No, they were on the same team. Actually, a friend of ours, we were on the phone the other day because we coached in the same regional against each other that had a lot of these guys in the same Regional, which was an absolute joke from the Division 2 baseball tournament standpoint.
There's a first rounder in that. Hayden Simpson was the first round out of that regional as well in 2005, you know, but, like, there, There's. You'd be shocked at where, you know, these kids get an opportunity to play, and next thing you know, like, they develop and they get better and you're going to get noticed, you know. So the reality is, like, you do just need that one person, that one coaching staff to really believe in what it is that you have to offer. But I will say on the flip side of that, like you talked about, like, there's a lot that goes into it, like, if you just want to go play baseball and you're not driven by, you know, a certain academic program or certain academics, you know, I'm going to stop short of saying that you. You can. There's a spot for you everywhere because you still have to have the requisite skills, as I like to say on this podcast. But, you know, if you're willing to go anywhere, you can open up some doors for yourself that, you know, you might be able to find a spot for you to be able to play, you know, but if there's certain other factors that go into it, you might be a little bit more pigeonholed. And that's just kind of the nature of the beast, you know. But I just, I think about this frequently as I get older, and I have a son who's 4, and I see some people older than me with kids and.
[00:23:18] Speaker A: And
[00:23:21] Speaker C: I don't know.
[00:23:22] Speaker E: Right.
[00:23:23] Speaker C: Like, I think that there's a certain amount of, obviously, talent that you have to have to get to this level. Right. Like, you and I had it. There's people who had more talent than us who, you know, it was easier for. There's people who had less talent than us. That was a little bit harder for, you know, but the thing that you're not going to be able to take away from people who have the, the desire to do this and the desire to be part of that 7, 8% to play college baseball or even that, you know, hey, division one's my, my dream. That, that 2.1, 2.2% that are going to play division one baseball or, you know, whether it's two or three, it doesn't matter. But, like, the, the amount of work and time, energy and effort you're going to have to put into this, like, it's not going to be handed to you, especially in 2026. Right. Like, there's social media. There's, there's a lot more platforms out there from an organization stand, a private organization standpoint where people can, you know, whether it's a perfect game or a PBR or, you know, any of the showcase type series that are out there where they're, they're active on social media and they're, they're putting out big events and putting things on, you know, that kind of shrink the country for Coach to be able to see you. Like that didn't exist 20 years ago, right? Like that wasn't a thing that, that you and I had the benefit of or maybe it would have been a detriment to us 20 years ago, you know, but it's, you're going to have to put in the time, you're going to have to put in the effort. You're going to have to sacrifice some things and you're just going to have to understand that this is also, you know, regardless of where you end up is you're running your own race like you're going to, you don't want to compare yourself to everyone else and what's going on and what this teammate is doing or what this guy across town has done.
It doesn't matter. What matters is what you're doing in order to get yourself an opportunity to have a seat at the table.
Because that, when you can lay your
[00:25:21] Speaker B: head down at night knowing that you,
[00:25:22] Speaker C: you know, you're out working some other people out there, like you're ultimately going to end up having, you know, the success it is that you're. You're looking for, you know, But I, I just think that there's, we've gotten to the point where there, there's a lot of, there's a lot of money involved in the recruitment world, whether it's showcases or camps or clinics or travel ball teams and things like that, where it's gotten to the point where it's almost like I've paid to do this so I deserve a right to have a say in what's going on. And that's just not going to be true.
You know, you're going to have to be good enough baseball wise. And that starts with, you know, again, I'll bring it full circle back to your time, energy and effort that you're going to put into to get yourself an opportunity to have a roster spot to play college baseball. And then it starts all over again. Like now you're going to have to put in more time, energy and effort in order to get some burn to be better than the players that are in front of you, you know, and that's going to take time.
And I think that the one thing, and you know, I think about this a lot of like, you know, some of the guys that I was around and, you know, when I was coaching, you read these things that, you know, the best are really good at just the boring stuff like going and hitting and, you know, paying attention to your throwing and being intentional with what it is that you're doing when you're at practice, all of those things. Like it's boring.
It is, right? Like, it can get monotonous. But the best, the best players, regardless of level, are really good at the fundamentals and being able to do those things day in and day out.
And that gives you the opportunity to be able to go out there and compete and play and do it at a high level versus not wanting to do it and not really getting that opportunity to ever be able to do it.
And ultimately I think that's what everyone wants, right? Like you want to go play college baseball and there's a difference in legitimately playing college baseball and just being a guy on a roster. Like, there's a difference between those two players, you know, and I, I'm going to hammer it home. That like, it, it takes, it takes time. Not just from a pure time standpoint of like your time being used to hit or throw or pitch or do defense. Like, it, it takes time from a maturation standpoint too. Again, it's going to take you a couple years to get to that point.
And if you're 13, 14, 15, or a parent of a 13, 14, 15 year old worrying about now, it's going to come just with them gradually getting older and maturing, get them in the weight room, it's going to explode.
It takes time that way in the energy and effort part.
That stuff's easy, relatively speaking.
You know, the energy and effort you're going to put into it. But also like, what are you bringing into the dugout? What are you bringing to the team? What are you doing from a gameplay standpoint? Like, do you have the energy? Do you have the juice? Like, are you on and off the field? Are you a good teammate? All of those things matter.
And the energy and effort part is like, you can't coach it. And it doesn't really take any talent level there to do that part of things, you know, so it's, there's a lot there, you know, I just think that there's, you know, way more, I feel like there's way more People, maybe it's just anecdotally, I feel like there's a lot more people that like, to the point of this whole podcast, that feel like they deserve the right to be able to play.
And that's just not ever going to be true when 93% of people aren't going to do it.
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[00:29:48] Speaker C: you're going to have to outwork those other 91%.
[00:29:57] Speaker B: Yeah. And you hit on it about the kids who are really talented and like, some kids can, you know, can kind of overcome a work ethic with talent to a certain extent. But what I. What I will push back on a little bit is that I think that you see these guys on social media and they're throwing hard and hitting bombs and running super fast.
Yeah, those kids probably have some natural talent that other kids don't have, but I can guarantee you those kids all work at it, you know?
[00:30:28] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: You know, the kids that. The kids that you see popping up on social media and, you know, going to the Futures Games or whatever it might be, those kids work at it. You know, we. We've had guys that have gone on to play at the highest level of college baseball, and I could tell you unequivocally that the kids who. They had talent for sure, but they were obsessive about trying to get better.
[00:30:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: With the weight room, with the nutrition, with mobility, work. And they had a mentality that was a little bit different than their peers. And your watch, you watch these guys continue to mature and continue to move through the pipeline, and you watch them continue to get better, and I'm not surprised because I've seen what that kid's willing to do.
I've been on the phone or in person with them talking about the things that they need to do, and there's no excuses.
It's just, okay, that's what I got to do. All right, I'm gonna do it.
And sometimes I think the.
The highlights. Right. And this Goes with, like, you know, you see the Tom Brady's of the world and guys who achieve at the highest level in whatever sport it is. You see the highlights, right? You know, we watch the World cup and, you know, that's obviously kind of top of mind here, but, you know, you see these guys playing at the absolute top of soccer.
Well, we watch the highlights. I mean, you don't see all the stuff that those guys do or did to get to that point. And it's the same thing we see with social media, with these kids who are really exceptional baseball players, is all you see is the swing.
All you see is the velocity on Twitter. But you don't see behind the scenes that that kid is busting his butt six other days of the week to make sure that on that seventh day, he's really good. You don't see the kid who smashes baseball wherever he goes. You don't see that that kid is taking 250 swings five days a week, not taken extended periods of time off. Like, there's a certain level of obsession and commitment that comes with being able to get to that level. And the guys who are super talented and don't do that, they eventually get washed out.
For some guys, it'll happen in high school.
For some guys, it'll happen in college. For some guys, that moment doesn't come until they get to pro ball where they get to single A and they're not willing to outwork the guy next to them. And it just never quite gets there.
But it happens at different times for everybody. But I. I think that we.
We get tricked sometimes into seeing the end result and you don't see all the work that goes into it.
[00:33:27] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that's true of you.
[00:33:29] Speaker B: You brought it up the other day about Verlander, which I. I want you to bring it up again because I thought it was really poignant. The all. The allstar interview where he's talking about, oh, continuing to evolve. Like you're talking about a first ballot
[00:33:44] Speaker C: podcast that didn't get recorded.
[00:33:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:47] Speaker C: Oh, okay.
[00:33:48] Speaker A: The.
[00:33:50] Speaker C: So I was watching the. It's been on social media, but I was watching the All Star Game.
It was the day before, but they were interviewing all the All Stars and Verlander came on with a Rod, Poppy and Jeter and a rod. Asked him, like, what.
What has allowed you to be at the top of your game for so long? You know, you're 40, 41, whatever he is now. And like, he is retiring at the
[00:34:16] Speaker A: end of the year.
[00:34:19] Speaker B: And he.
[00:34:19] Speaker C: He had a Phenomenal answer. Where he talked about, you know, his ability to change with the game. He's like, the game is completely different from what it was when I was a rookie.
It changes every year and every year the players got better and I had to figure out ways where I could still continually get guys out. Like, I had to continually work every year to try to be better than the Justin Verlander the previous year to stay where I was at the top of the game.
And I thought it was a phenomenal answer and very honest because I think that that's how guys like him and you know, you, you look up and down and like, there's very few guys that make it 10, 12, 15, 17 years. Like, they're usually your top stars that everyone knows about. Right. But there's some guys in there that you probably don't think about that are, you know, 10, 11, 12 year vets that are really, really good at what they do.
You know, I was fortunate enough to see somebody that, you know, played, it is played 12, 13 years in the big leagues and he, he would throw at RPI and he's a local guy and, you know, but to hear him talk about what, what it is that he needed to do in order to stay at the top of his game so that he could stay pitching in the big leagues, like, it was, it was a very business like approach and a very, there was a plan and this is what I need to do and I need to stay in this arm slot and I need to, like, this is how I get myself prepped so that I can, you know, go about 162 game season and throw out of the bullpen and throw, you know, know, 40, 50 times.
And it's the, the intent and everything that they do behind it is there's something there every single time they pick up a baseball. It's every single time they throw. And I've, you know, I, I've thrown BP to guys who play in the big leagues. Like, I've watched it. There is a swing, every single swing they take, there is an intent behind that swing, on what they're doing. It's not just, I'm just going to, you know, take 50 swings. It's like, hey, I want to work on this. I want to work on this for 20 pitches, throw the ball here because I need to get better and feel this in my swing.
But I thought it was a very, it was a very honest answer about how, you know, and it's easy to say, like, Verland is a first ballot hall of Famer, he's one of the best ever tow the robber and he had the God given talent. But even to have somebody who is a first ballot hall of Famer and like, that's why he will be a first ballot valid hall of Famer, right? Like he has the work ethic behind it to say like and the self awareness to be like, I, the game is getting better, I'm getting older. I need to still figure out ways to be able to get these guys out because they're, they're really good hitters and I need to stay on top of what it is that I do so that I can be one, you know, a half a step ahead to be able to still find success here.
But you extrapolate that out, it's true for everything that you're going to do, whether it's in life or whether it's going to be in, you know, whether you're in high school or college, like you got to figure out ways to be better. You know, I think Coach Raku you and we had him on set it that, you know, keep moving forward, even if it's just one half a step or you know, one half a step forward every day is better than standing in the same spot that you were at the start of the day.
And there's a lot of truth to that in baseball. You know, I think that it's, we talked about it earlier. It's hard.
It's a game where you're going to get beaten down, you know, and how do you respond to those things? And what do you do in order to get yourself better, to give yourself a shot to, to get in the lineup and, and play more and then once you're there, what do you have to do in order to keep going, right? Like it's a continual evolution forward instead of kind of sitting in the same spot. And it's, you know, it's true in recruiting too, right? Like if you were trying to play college baseball and you're, you're trying to compare yourself to other people.
Well, I saw this guy last year and he committed to this school and you know, I, I think I'm better than him. Like the whole point of recruiting is to get better every year, not to maintain the status quo. Like the whole point is every class that you bring in is better than the class before them. So that there's this constant push forward, you know, So I, it's, it's true in all of baseball, right? Like whether it's recruiting, whether it's coaching your kids, whether you Know, if you're a coach, like, you should strive to. And I believed this when I was coaching. Like, you know, you ask your kids to get better. Like, you should be trying to get better as a coach every year, right? Like, this is something that I believed in. Like, if you're. If I'm going to ask you to get better, I'm going to get better at coaching, you know, So I just think that there's. It's got to be this continual push forward, and it doesn't have to be, you know, a football field at a time. You know, it can be half a step at a time, but this continual push forward for you to get better so that you can give yourself an opportunity to have your foot in the door to get to a spot where you're going to find success and ultimately be able to play and see how long you can, you know, ultimately make your career. And if it ends in college, it ends in college. Good on you. If it ends in pro ball, cool.
Ends in the show.
Awesome, man. You're one of 25,000 people ever do it, you know, but it's that continual push forward that I think the people that find success and ultimately make it to college baseball and find success at that level and forward levels are the people that are continually trying to better themselves with getting better at whatever it is that they need to work on from a gameplay standpoint, from a hitting standpoint, from a pitching standpoint, getting people out, from a defensive standpoint, just a general baseball IQ standpoint. What does that look like?
I need to know the game more type stuff. So, you know, I guess the crux of what, you know, I probably read way too much into what Verlander said, but, you know, my coaching brain took over. And I just think it's one of those things where, like, you just have to continually push forward to be better, to try to extend your career one day longer or one year longer or whatever it might be.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: And we talk about, and I've said this before, when the fun goes out of it, a lot of times that's the end for a lot of kids or players, right? And seeing guys who have moved on to pro ball and have the conversation with them, they're like him. It's just not fun anymore. All right, well, just play as long as you can play then, because if it's not fun, you're not going to enjoy it. But there's a difference between, like, giggle and laughing. Fun versus doing something that you enjoy doing. And all of the things that you just talked about are wildly important. Right. The constant push to try to get better, that has to be your fun for you.
Like, you have to enjoy it. You have to enjoy going to the gym, you have to enjoy getting your swings. You have to enjoy all that stuff. It has to be something. It doesn't mean that it's fun in the sense of, like, goofing around with your buddies fun, but it has to be enjoyable. It has to be something that you look forward to.
And that's where I think people lose sight of it is everything that you need to do to get recruited is the bare minimum of what you're going to have to do when you get to go and play in college. And really falling in line with that idea of, like, you know, I, I, you can learn to enjoy it. And a lot of times it takes a little bit of time to love the weight room, because the first month that you really commit yourself to the weight room, it's gonna suck. You're gonna be sore, you're gonna be stiff.
But then eventually you'll learn to love the process of going in there and, and lifting and breaking a sweat and having fun doing it. But that's the other thing that always comes back to me here, is that sometimes it can sound like it has to be a, like, you have to be like, maniacal and like business.
No, like, the obsession comes from the enjoyment, I think, like the guys who really enjoy doing this great way.
[00:42:20] Speaker C: I think it's a great way to put it.
Like, it's, you obsess over it and it becomes something that you enjoy doing because you want to get better at it and you see yourself a passion.
[00:42:33] Speaker B: Would you call it a passion?
[00:42:40] Speaker A: I don't know.
[00:42:41] Speaker C: I think obsession is better.
[00:42:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:42:44] Speaker C: My honest answer, like, if, if you ultimately want to get to where you want to go, I think obsession is probably better. A healthy obsession, if you will. Not a, not an unhealthy obsession, but a healthy obsession. I mean, I think if you have a passion for something, like, yeah, like, he has a passion for it and he wants to do it, yeah, that's awesome. But like, like, it's something that, if you, if you legitimately want to be good at it, I think it's something you obsess over about how you, how you're going to continually get better and that's, you know, and it looks different for everyone.
Right. But I, I think that, like, that obsession is what drives you forward of, like, I, you know, like, I was obsessed about. I, I guess I'm just relating to My own self. Like, I was obsessed about baseball and still am. Like, I had a passion for wrestling and football.
Like, I really liked it. I was good at it. I got recruited to for both. But like, I didn't. Like, I wasn't obsessed about it. Like, I wasn't gonna go do it in college. Like, I was obsessed about baseball and, you know, wanted to be the best that I could possibly be.
And, you know, I think that, like. And maybe part of me is like, that's why, you know, I think that's why I ended up coaching. It's why I end up doing this on this side of things. Like, I really enjoyed recruiting. I really enjoyed doing these things.
And I obsessed over recruiting and getting better at coaching and being able to be the best coach I could be so that our team would be better. Like, those things, like, those are things that kept me up at night,
[00:44:29] Speaker D: you
[00:44:29] Speaker C: know, So I. I would probably say obsession is probably the better word in a healthy way, not an unhealthy way. Like, you obviously need time away and you need to understand that, right? Like, especially at a younger level, like, you can be obsessed with it, but, like, you need some time away. It's okay to not throw 12 months out of the year.
You shouldn't be like, take some time off, get away for a little bit. It's a good thing for you to be able to reset.
But in that time, like, you can still obsess over things. You know what I mean? Like, you could still, in that time away, you can still be thinking about things that it is that you want to do or try or, you know how it is, you're going to get better and you could, you know, step away and not be throwing while being in the weight room and working on mobility and doing things that are ultimately going to improve your game while also giving your body the rest of the. That it so desperately needs.
You know, So I think that there's. I would, I would, I would be on the side of obsession over. And make no mistake about it, like, I am, I am fully aware that I am whacked when it comes to baseball. Like, I am aware of that. I'm self aware enough to know that I'm not. I'm in the very, very low minority of people who care this much about a lot of stuff in. Within this realm of the game.
But I think it's just something that, like, I. It's something that I've been obsessed with since I started playing when I was 6.
I skipped T ball.
[00:46:03] Speaker B: I mean, with those catch and throw skills. Of course,
[00:46:10] Speaker C: I probably would have been the kid that would have got thrown out for, like, tackling everyone, trying to get the ball.
Mr. Glasser, your son is tackling young little Mikey over there while trying to get the ball.
[00:46:23] Speaker B: Your. Your son just put a kid in a half nelson.
[00:46:27] Speaker C: Yeah. That's why I got into wrestling at second grade.
Needed an outlet in the winter.
[00:46:34] Speaker B: But it's. It's a difficult thing that you have to work for. And I take that is really what this comes down to. And it's important to wrap your head around that. And, you know, for the kids who are listening, this isn't lip service, what we're saying.
Right. This comes from a collective 40 plus years of being involved in college baseball.
[00:46:56] Speaker D: And
[00:46:59] Speaker B: this is something that you really want. You have to be willing to do the things that are going to get you in a position to just have the opportunity.
And if you're willing to do it, then it comes down to performing. And most of the time, the performance is based on the time that you put into it. And you know, if you put the time in, you're probably going to perform. So that's all I really got to say. You got anything else you want to add?
[00:47:25] Speaker C: I do not.
[00:47:27] Speaker B: All right, well, thank you for listening, everybody. Tune in next week. We will talk to you then. Thank you.
Thank you for listening this week.
[00:47:35] Speaker D: If you're watching on YouTube, go ahead and hit that subscribe button and smash
[00:47:39] Speaker B: that like button for us.
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[00:47:43] Speaker B: podcasts, as well as Spotify.
[00:47:45] Speaker D: You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram MDBaseball. If you want to find out what me and Keith do to help families and players navigate the recruiting process, go ahead and check us out on emdbaseball.com take a few minutes to check out our new online academy. I promise you'll get some good information out of that.
[00:48:03] Speaker B: Thanks again for listening.
[00:48:04] Speaker C: Check in with you next week.
